


TVFH - Lost Chapter #1

by DramaticGarbage



Series: The View From Here [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Food mention, Implied Past Abuse, M/M, implied past abandonment, panic attack warning, past death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 20:31:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17029515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage/pseuds/DramaticGarbage
Summary: A look into the difficult past that Virgil and Patton don't talk about, meeting someone accidentally who changes everything they thought they knew.(I promise this is the angiest thing i've written, and I promise it still ends well. The first two chapters have them talking about things that have happened in the past, and then things get better. The 4th is allll fluff and comedy)





	1. Chapter 1

Logan sighed for what felt like the 100th time since they had been in the grocery store. Roman was dragging him up and down every aisle, grabbing almost everything he looked at. Both of them were pushing a cart and they were filling up quickly.

“Roman, we don’t need this much food. This is excessive.” Logan sighed yet again, placing a hand on his temple.

“You know those two can eat, especially Pat! I don’t want to not have enough! They always provide everything! We should at least help!” Roman argued. They turned down the baking aisle, Roman determined to help Patton restock a bit from all the treats he made for them. He spied a huge bag of sugar up on the top shelf. “Ooo Logan! Grab that bag!” Roman pointed upwards.

“Roman… I am not that much taller than you. I am not going to be able to reach it.” Logan did his best to reach for the sugar, but was no where near tall enough. “And even if I was… I would not be able to bring that large of an item down in a safe manner.”

“…Not to assume or anything. But can I offer you two a bit of assistance?” They heard a voice from behind them and turned to see a rather tall man standing there.

“Yes please, good sir! Would you mind grabbing that bag of sugar?” Roman happily agreed. The tall man easily retrieved the several pound sack of sugar and placed it in Roman’s cart.

“Thank you, sir.” Logan turned and actually took a moment to get a good look at him. He had graying hair, but it was apparent that it had been a very soft honey brown. His frame was small, he was a thin and wiry man, probably in his late 40s or early 50s. There was something about him… It clicked in Logan’s mind. His eyes. The man turned to Logan and they locked gazes. The man had such bright, warm… Green eyes. He knew them well… They looked exactly like Patton’s eyes.

Roman noticed Logan studying the stranger and began to look at him more closely. His body type was so familiar to him. He was thin but not fragile… He was built like… Virgil? Roman began picturing Patton and Virgil standing next to him and realized he was right between their heights.

“…Did I do something, you two?” The man looked a little concerned. He placed his hand on the back on his neck in awkward concern. Roman was taken aback at the familiar gesture.

“Oh no… It’s just… You… You remind us of…” Roman began. The man’s eyes widened.

“It’s… Uncanny.” Logan added, still studying the man before them. The older man became very still and spoke in a hushed whisper.

“Do… Do you know my son?” He had a pleading look in his eyes.

“Son? As in… Singular?” Logan raised his eyebrow.

“…I’m not sure what you mean by that.” The man’s voice was shaking.

“You remind us of a pair of brothers we know… Tall like you. One that’s built like you… The other… That looks just like you.” Roman said slowly.

“…A Pair… Of brothers? …Two? I don’t… I can't…” He raised his hands to his face and his eyes went unfocused. Like he had to figure out how to breathe and think all over again.

Roman and Logan looked at each other, completely unsure what was going on. They gave the strangely familiar man a moment to calm down, waiting patiently for him to come back to them.

“… I have a lot that I have to go think about. But… Here…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a business card and handed it to Logan. “Can… You please give this to my son… My sons?” He turned around and walked quickly away, straight out of the store.

Logan looked down at the business card. It read, above his contact information:

> _Vincent Small  
>  General Contractor_

“Why do I feel like… Something… Very bad is going to happen?” Roman said quietly.

They silently finished their shop and took their multiple hundred dollars of groceries off to Patton’s house.  

—

Eventually they arrived at their destination and carried in the first trip of groceries.

“Welcome back you two! You didn’t have to get so much!” Patton smiled cheerily, the two Towers brothers walking into the kitchen. They barely registered that Patton said anything and just went back to the car. Virgil and Patton shared a concerned look as they went and helped grab the rest of the groceries. They quickly put the food away but Roman and Logan were still acting strange. Patton and Virgil ushered the two shorter men to the couch, gently leading them to sit down comfortably. They crouched down in front of the couch, putting them all at a similar eye level. Virgil was silently stroking the back of Roman’s hand and Patton had gently placed his hands on Logan’s knees.

“Guys… What is wrong? Are you two ok? You are acting strange.” Patton asked sincerely. Roman and Logan slowly looked at each other, Roman nodding his head toward Logan. Logan slowly drew in a breath and took a moment to choose his words.

“… We were at the grocery store. Roman wanted to retrieve something from a high shelf that we could not reach. Fortuitously, a rather tall man was walking past and gave us assistance. He…” Logan looked up from his legs and at Patton’s concerned face. Logan gently reached out to touch Patton’s cheek. “He had soft brown hair… And bright green eyes.”

“He…” Roman looked up at Virgil. “He had a thin wiry frame and… Familiar mannerisms.” Virgil and Patton’s eyes both got big as they looked at each other. Logan silently pulled the business card out of his pocket and handed it to Patton. He took it in a shaking hand and pulled away, standing up. Virgil also stood and looked at the card. Logan and Roman studied their boyfriend’s reactions.

Patton was staring at the card in his hands like it was the cure for world hunger. Like he had been wandering in a desert and someone had handed him a gallon of water. His hands were shaking a little and lip trembling.

Virgil was a completely different story. He was staring intently at the card, but looking right through it. If looks could kill, that small paper rectangle would have been on fire. It appeared as if Virgil was reliving every situation that had ever angered him in his life. Suddenly his hand darted out to snatch it from Patton but Patton immediately flung his hand in the air. Roman would have chuckled at the brotherly game of keep away if he wasn’t so concerned about the look in Virgil’s eyes.

“Virgil. Don’t. You. Dare.” His voice was firm, but somehow still sad. Patton’s hand was still as high as it could go, Virgil would have had to jump to reach it.

“Patton. Give it to me.” Virgil’s voice full of malice.

“Virgil. Don’t you want to know?”

“After everything, Patton? After all this time? You can’t be serious.”

“Why can’t I? You aren’t curious? You don’t want to know anything?” Patton’s voice was getting angrier, but still maintaining a consistent level of pain.

“No. I don’t. Not after what Nan told us. There’s no way. He… He left us, Pat. After mom…”

“You wanna talk about Mom?! Fine! Let’s talk about her! What was she like, Virgil? Huh? WHAT WAS SHE LIKE?!” Patton exploded, the two on the couch never having seen anything like this from the normally gentle Patton.

“…Patton. Don’t do this. You know… You know I don’t remember.”

“AND WHY DON’T YOU REMEMBER HER? TELL ME. SAY IT.” Patton’s eyes were full of water, but his voice dripped with acid.

“…Patton…” Virgil had completely dropped his guard.

“Say it, Virgil. Say it.” His voice dropped to just above a whisper. But the threat hadn’t left.

“…She died, Patton.”

“When.”

“Pat…”

“WHEN.”

“…The day you were born.”

“Exactly. Maybe i’d like to chance to meet ONE of my parents, Virgil. THE ONE I DIDN’T KILL.” Patton stormed out of his back door into his backyard.

Virgil looked down at his feet and raked his fingers through his hair several times.

“…Damn it, Pat… Damn it, me…” He muttered quietly and looked around the room, suddenly remembering that Roman and Logan were still seated there at all.

“I… uh… I guess I have a story to tell.” Virgil said weakly.

“…Take your time. If you need a moment… Or if you need to go to him..” Roman said quietly.

“..No.. Pat… Pat will be ok. He just needs some time.”

Virgil pulled up a chair to face the couch and sat before them. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, cradling his head in his hands. He drew in a breath and sat up a bit, still slumped forward.

“…Patton and I are only 11 months apart in age… Almost exactly. Our mom, from what I’ve been told, was rather young. Our father… wasn’t around. Our grandmother absolutely hated him… She is the one who raised us…. But… uh… I don’t know. Maybe it’s silly that I’m still so mad at him.. I can’t blame Pat… It isn’t his fault. Nan was just so adamant that he was a bad man. That he couldn’t be bothered to show up when I was born… And that when he found out about Patton he disappeared off the face of the earth. Didn’t even come to Mom’s funeral. She died… She wasn’t strong enough to handle us being born so close together. We were both big… You probably would’ve guessed that though… But… Pat was about 15 pounds when he was born… And.. She couldn't…” Virgil was just rambling on, his eyes starting to water. He wasn’t the emotional type and it broke both their hearts, especially Roman’s, to see him like this.

A hand gently came down on Virgil’s shoulder and he looked up to see Pat standing there, his face streaked with tears. He fell to his knees beside Virgil and they stared at each other for a long time.

“… I’m sorry Virgil… I just.. I…” Patton choked out. Virgil just looked at him and pulled him for a hug, wrapping his thin arms around his bear of a little brother. They stayed for a moment, pulling apart to go back to looking at each other.

“….We will always have each other…” Virgil said with a small smile. Patton’s eyes brightened a little bit.

“…even when everything else is gone.” Patton finished with a small smile through the tears. It clicked in Roman and Logan’s heads why they had gotten those tattoos.

“Wait.” Logan suddenly said, all three of them looking over to him. No one spoke. “…Something doesn’t make sense.” He slowly added.

“..What?” Patton said, his voice still shaking. He was looking at Logan as though he had the ability to either fix all of this… Or destroy everything he held dear.

“Your father… He doesn’t know about Patton.” Logan slowly spoke. A wave of realization passing over Roman’s face.

“That’s right!” Roman popped up from his seat, surprising the others around him. He began to pace a little. “When we mentioned he reminded us of someone we knew… He asked if we knew his son… We corrected him to sons… And the world crashed around his ears. There’s no way that…”

“….But Nan said…” Virgil looked lost.

“…She hated him, Virge. She HATED him… She must have.. To keep him away from… But…” Patton’s face was a mixture of hurt and hope.

“To.. But…” Virgil still couldn’t handle the information.

“Virge… I know you feel like you owe Nan… She took care of us and she didn’t have to do that. She kept us together… But she was a very angry woman, Virgil… There’s a reason you have panic attacks. There’s a reason you have triggers. There’s a reason you don’t feel comfortable eating a lot of the time. There’s a reason why you almost never go out with your arms or legs bare. And there’s a reason why you feel safer in the dark than in the light. You have to understand… There’s no way we ever would have gotten the real story from her.” It was Patton’s turn to hold Virgil this time, he trembled even in his brother’s strong embrace.

Roman’s eyes had grown wider with every sentence Patton had spoken. He could feel his heart shattering at what Virgil had been through. He wanted to go to him, hold him, tell him everything would be ok. He wanted to help. But this wasn’t his moment. Patton had him. Patton was who he needed right now. He gently grabbed Logan’s hand, Logan acting as his rock for now.

“It’s up to you… Big brother. It’s your decision. You’ve always protected me. You make sure I don’t get myself hurt. I trust your judgment. I always have. I’ve always looked up to you.” Patton smiled and handed the business card to Virgil. He stared at it a long moment and then looked up into his brother’s eyes before cracking a small smile.

“…You don’t look up to anyone, Pat. You’re the biggest guy around.” Virgil joked with a half smile and sparkling eyes.

Patton just chuckled a little and pulled his older brother in closer to him, ruffling his hair a little.

“No one… Except you.”


	2. 2

They sat and talked for a while, Roman and Logan listening intently to Virgil and Patton as they kind of explained the story as they knew it.

Their grandmother had always said their father was a deadbeat, roaming from place to place with no care whom it affected. Why their mother waited for him to return, she had no idea. He couldn’t have been bothered to show up for Virgil’s birth, but their mother still insisted on giving him a name similar to their father’s, as well as his last name. He came back and was only around for a month or two before he left them again, not even realizing that Patton had been conceived. Their mother sent letters trying to let him know about his second child but he never replied. Their grandmother sent a letter after Patton was born stating that their mother had passed but the baby was healthy. They still never heard anything. So they just went on with their lives, their grandmother raising them on her own. She had passed away around the time Virgil turned 18, and everything she had, as well as anything their mom had had, was left to them. It turned about to be enough for them to comfortably get through college. Patton chose culinary school, Virgil went into computer science. The day Patton turned 18, they got their tattoos to remember that even though they didn’t have anyone else, they would always have each other.

“Now… I feel like not all of what Nan said was completely true… She held a pretty solid grudge against our father… But maybe it is. I just want to hear it for myself what he has to say… To see him. To know what he has to say for himself… To know something about who we come from.” Patton said slowly. Logan picked up the business card and flipped it over to the back. A small smile formed on his face.

“Well, he can’t be all bad… He has at least one thing in common with Patton.” The others looked over to Logan. “…Terrible humor.” He held up the card to show them all the back and in big letters was the name of the company where their father worked.

> **_BIG SMALL’S CONTRACTING  
>  “No job too big or small for BIG SMALL’S”_ **

Virgil immediately groaned and face palmed while Patton laughed.

“I do not need more dad humor… I just don’t need it…” Virgil groaned upwards toward the ceiling. They all chuckled a bit but it died down into silence as they all looked around at each other.

“Soooo, what’s the plan from here?” Virgil said quietly to no one in particular.

“We… Call him?” Patton said, looking at the card that was still in Logan’s hand.

“Do you want to?”

“…No. Do you want to?”

“No.”

“…I’m not sure if i’m overstepping here. Because this is your family situation… But do you want me to call him?” Roman said, nervously.

Virgil and Patton both looked over to Roman and smiled gently.

“You aren’t overstepping, Roman. Don’t worry. Honestly… I’d be fine if you did.” Patton shrugged.

“Thank you Roman. I appreciate it.” Virgil added, his voice weary.

“Now?” He asked. The other two just shrugged and nodded. Logan passed him the card and he pulled out his cellphone. Slowly typing the number in, he looked up at the others in the room, all staring at him. He took a deep breath and called, pulling the phone to his ear.

“…. Hello there. May I speak to Vincent? … Oh, hello Vincent. My name is Roman, you met my brother and I at the grocery store this morning. … The less nerdy one. … Yep, that’s me! Uhh. Anyway, I’m here with Virgil and Patton. … … … Hello? Are you still there? … Yes. … Yes. … No. … I, uh. I’m not sure? … Yes. … Um, let me ask them.” Roman spun the phone away from his mouth and whispered. “Do you guys want to meet up with him later?” Both of them seemed surprised and they looked at each other before just kind of shrugging. Roman whispered again. “Today?” They shrugged again. Roman turned back to the phone. “Vincent, are you still there? … Sure. … That sounds fine. … Yes. Both of us. … Ok. I’ll let them know. … Ok. … … … Yes. I understand. … Sounds good. … Ok, see you then. … Goodbye.” Roman hung up the phone.

He looked up at the people around the room and took a moment to study each of them. Patton looked nervous, staring at Roman as though the harder he looked the more he might figure out. Virgil was looking a little pale, even for him, but into Roman’s face in a way that showed he trusted him. Like Virgil knew that Roman would make it all ok. Logan’s face was rather neutral, his expression nearly blank. But Roman knew his brain was moving a mile a second. Thinking and planning and mapping out potential outcomes.

“He.. uh.. He wants to meet up. Tonight. If you are ok with that. There’s a park, public but secluded enough, near a mall. If things go well we can get dinner after. If not, then you don’t have to see him again. He just.. He wants to meet you both. He never thought he would see you again…” Roman trailed off, looking at Virgil before turning to Patton. “And he feels awful he didn’t know about you. He seems to want a chance to make up for lost time.”

They sat quietly for a moment, thinking on the situation. Roman was just looking back and forth between the two Smalls, both which were staring forward with unfocused eyes, lost in thought. Logan watched this a moment before closing his eyes to ponder.

“Well. At the very least, if this doesn’t go well and you don’t want to see him again, he doesn’t have your contact information. You’ve all lived relatively close to each other for at least some time now, seeing as we ran into him at the grocery store, and have never crossed paths. So I would surmise that nothing too negative will happen.” Logan broke the silence.

“…And if it goes poorly… You won’t have lost anything.” Roman said quietly. Virgil slowly wrapped an arm around Patton’s shoulders and pulled him in.

“We will still have each other.” Virgil said quietly to Patton. He placed his arms around Virgil’s waist and hugged him in tight, nodding.

—

The rest of the day was sort of a strange blur. They didn’t do too much, just kind of sitting around, talking a little. They eventually left the house in Logan’s small SUV, heading out toward the park. The car ride was silent, the two tall ones moderately squished in the back even though both the front seats were pushed all the way up. They pulled up to the park and saw, seated at a nearby park table under a large built in canopy, was a very familiar and rather nervous looking man. Logan parked the car and they all looked over at him for a moment. Roman and Logan were in the front, and it seemed Vincent recognized them and stood with a small wave. The back windows were darkly tinted, allowing Patton and Virgil to look at him before he could see them.

“Do you want us to go first? Do you two want a minute?” Logan asked, not turning around. Patton and Virgil nervously looked from their father to each other a couple times before Virgil meekly spoke up.

“Maybe… A moment.”

“Completely understandable. Take all the time you need.” Roman spoke reassuringly. Logan and Roman got out of the car, Logan tossing the car keys to Patton before walking over to meet Vincent.

“Hello there, again… They just… They need a minute.” Roman explained.

“I totally understand. And uh… We never did formally meet. I’m Vince. Vince Small.” He held his hand out to shake.

“Roman Towers.” He shook his hand.

“Logan Towers.”

“…Have you already talked about how our last names don’t match up? Because.. I’m not going to lie. That’s hilarious.” Vince smiled a little, holding back a laugh.

“Oh yeah. Virgil and I had quite a… Scene when we first realized it.” Roman smiled a little, thinking back to their first date.

“Oh I can imagine.” He let out a little laugh, Logan’s eyes softening as he recognized a hint of a hearty laugh that he knew all too well.

They heard the honk of a carhorn and they all turned to see Patton and Virgil walking toward them, Patton having just locked the car. Vince’s eyes got huge when he saw the two of them. Almost like he wasn’t sure this was all actually happening.

“… They do look like me.” He said so quietly that the two next to him almost didn’t hear it.

Virgil and Patton were slowly walking up from the car, although to be fair, with their strides they never really moved that slowly. They walked up and stopped a little behind Roman and Logan.

“…Hi.” Virgil said quietly. They all took a moment to kind of look each other over. Vince was noting all the things that they had in common with him and all the things he recognized in them from their mother. Virgil and Patton just seemed surprised that this man someone how managed to look like both of them when they always thought didn’t have too much in common besides their height. But looking at this man… It became apparent where they both got their strong noses and their jawline. Their eyes were the same shape… It was so strange.

“Umm.. Hello. Thank you both for coming to… Meet me?” Vince said, awkwardly placing his hand on the back of his neck. Patton almost chuckled at the gesture he’d seen his brother perform a million times.

“Yeah… Uhh. I honestly never thought this would happen. I never really prepared for this, to be honest.” Virgil said quietly with a shrug. Patton was strangely quiet. Still sizing up the man before them.

“I had always hoped that it would… I’ve been trying to figure out what happened for nearly 30 years… But I never had imagined that..” Vince turned to look from Virgil to Patton. Patton’s gaze was gentle but unwavering.

“I always wanted answers… I never knew what I thought we’d find… But I guess there is one thing for sure… We are definitely related.” Patton said with a small smile. A much larger one spread across Vince’s face.

“Oh, I’d have to agree with you there. Although I must say… You are the tallest Small i’ve ever seen! My dad was probably your height at your age… But not anymore.” Vince laughed. Patton and Virgil quickly side glanced at each other, they hadn’t considered the idea that there may be more family for them to discover.

“I… I want to get to know you. But not until we clear some things up. I can’t.. I can’t move forward yet.” Virgil finally said, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Oh definitely. I don’t.. I don’t know what you know about me. But… If i’m being honest I can’t imagine it’s anything good. Let’s sit down. Maybe we can fill in missing information for each other.” Vincent nodded and gestured to the picnic table.

They all sat down at the square table, Patton and Virgil next to each other with Vincent across from them, and Logan and Roman sitting between them on each side. They were quiet at first. Vincent silently rubbed the back of his neck with his hand again, Virgil suddenly realizing what Roman meant when he said “familiar mannerisms.”

“I guess… I’ll go first. Then you tell me what I don’t know?” Vince began. Virgil and Patton nodded. “I was… 16 when I met your mother, Melody. She was beautiful, with gray eyes and dark hair… Just like your’s, Virgil. We went to high school together. We dated our senior year and… She was always the smart one. Of course she got a full scholarship to go wherever she wanted. But she wanted to be with me… I still don’t know why. I didn’t have her grades… But I wanted to support her and do whatever I could for her… So I joined the Army.” He was looking down at his clasped hands… Reliving his life in his mind.

“Wait. You were in the military?” Virgil asked, completely taken aback.

“… You didn’t know that?” Vince’s eyes widened slightly.

“No. Not at all.”

“Where did… Oh no. Petunia. Petunia was the only one you had, wasn’t she? Oh my god, boys. I’m so sorry… I’m so so sorry.” Vince’s eyes got huge, looking at his two sons with a horrified look in his eyes.

“…Nan was all that was left.” Virgil said quietly.

“I’m so sorry… I can’t imagine… I’m.. So furious with myself. If only I could have.. I should have…” His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.

“What happened next?” Patton said, his voice clear and even. His arms were crossed over his chest as he looked at Vincent over the top of his glasses.

“…I was deployed. Overseas. I found out a few months into being gone that she was expecting… I did everything I could to make it home before the baby.. uh.. You, Virgil.. was due. But I didn’t get back home until you were already a week old. It was my first, greatest regret. I was home for a few months, the best time of my entire life to be honest. I had to deploy again, farther this time… I vowed it would be my last one. I would never leave my family again. But when I was about a month or two from returning… I got a letter from Petunia telling me Melody had gotten very sick and passed away while I was gone. She even included a copy of her death certificate. I wrote back but never heard anything. As soon as I got back I looked up the records and found she wasn’t lying. I went and visited her grave… I couldn’t believe she was gone. I started searching for you, Virgil… But she had vanished with you. All traces of you were hidden. And you were only a year old when I returned… There were no records of where you were.” His head was hanging low, his eyes shining.

Virgil looked completely lost, his entire understanding of his life seemingly torn asunder. Patton was still sitting calmly, his arms crossed. He had closed his eyes, thinking. Roman and Logan were sitting quietly, Roman seemed to be enthralled in the tragic love story while Logan was silently fact checking in his head. They were all sitting quietly a moment.

“May I ask a question?” Logan asked quietly, causing everyone to turn to him. The three Smalls just nodded.

“Vince, in what months did you return home and then deploy again?”

“Umm. I came home in January and then left again in… March, I believe.”

“Virgil, Patton. Remind me, in what months are your birthdays?”

“January.”

“December.”

“…It adds up. There is nothing unlikely about the story. It is completely possible that Patton was conceived and that this was not discovered until after Vince had gone.” Logan said, his finger pressed against his chin in contemplation. Patton smiled gently at Logan and silently reached out and squeezed his hand, causing Logan to blush a little.

“…It’s not that I don’t believe you. I do… And I want to. It’s just hard to get over everything I’ve believed all this time.” Virgil said, finally coming out of shock for a moment. But his voice was shaking, as were his hands.

“I understand, Virgil. You don’t have to alter your way of thinking. This is a big thing.” Vince said, his voice even and reassuring.

Virgil was looking at Vince but his body wasn’t moving. His eyes were starting to glaze just a little bit. Patton moved to let go of Logan and go to his brother but Roman had already popped up out of his seat. He stood next to Virgil and pulled him close, allowing his tall boyfriend to rest his head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around the still giant and began speaking softly into his ear. Patton looked lost for a moment, not knowing what to do. Logan grabbed Patton’s hand again, reassuring him silently. Vince’s eyebrow raised slowly as he surveyed the situation, realizing just who these two men he had met were to his sons. He immediately relaxed his face, not wanting to send the wrong message.

They waited a few moments, allowing Roman to help calm Virgil down. Once he seemed to be doing alright again, Patton slowly took a deep breath in.

“So.. You have more of the story than we do. Nan never told us that you were military. Just some wandering deadbeat who didn’t have time for us… She also told us that it was you finding out about me that lead you to never come back for us… So you know…” Patton’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It was my fault that we didn’t have either of our parents…” His voice trailed off, his gaze down at the table.

“…What? Either?” Vince was getting angry, but he was also confused.

“I was… uh..”

“Patton was 15 pounds when he was born… Nan always made it seem like it was his fault that… Mom didn’t make it.” Virgil finished, Patton’s voice having gotten too shaky. Vince had jumped to his feet.

“Patton. If I had known… I would have never.. I can’t believe that woman dared to put that on you. If your mother’s passing was anyone’s fault, it’s mine. Not your’s. Not your’s at all. Not even a little bit.” Vince was shaking with anger.

Patton looked up at him with tears in his eyes, there was something so familiar about this. Vince was so much like Virgil. The brother who was basically the dad he never had growing up… And now their actual dad was right here in front of them. And he was trying to protect him.. Just like Virgil always did.

“What she did to me… Was nothing compared to what she did to Virgil.” Patton managed to say, Virgil looking to him with sadness in his eyes.

“No, Pat. You had it worse. I only had it physically. Those scars are healed. Your’s aren’t.”

Vincent could not believe what he was hearing. His sons… Because he wasn’t there… He…

Vincent raised his hands to his temples and began pacing back and forth quickly. The other 4 all looked up at him. He was muttering to himself a bit, completely lost. Roman’s eyes were darting quickly after him as he did so. He and Virgil had certain similarities, but this wasn’t anything he was used to. But it still felt like… Roman popped up out of his chair just as Vince began to slow down. He was still muttering, his eyes unfocused.

“Um…” Virgil slowly uttered, unsure what was happening.

Roman and Patton were much better at recognizing the signs than Virgil was, seeing as Virgil had never been on this side of things, but Roman was quickest. Vince’s legs crumpled beneath him but Roman was already there and caught him before he could hit the ground. He gently sat Vince down and sat himself on his knees next to him, with one hand on the older man’s back to help hold him up.

“Vincent? Can you hear me? I need you to breathe ok? It’s all going to be alright. It’s ok.” Roman said quietly, his voice soft but reassuring. Virgil and Patton also came and sat near him, watching. Vince slowly refocused, finding Roman first. He turned and saw his two sons, sitting next to him with concerned expressions.

“…I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry. I never would have.. I never wanted to…” He had tears in his eyes.

“…It isn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing… She did everything she could to keep us apart. We don’t blame you.” Virgil said, a small smile on his face as he very tentatively reached out and grabbed his father’s hand.

“You did everything you could.” Patton also smiled. He grabbed his father’s other hand and they slowly pulled him up together. They all stood together a moment.

“Want to try this again? But just uh.. Maybe easier stuff?” Virgil broke the silence, his hand on the back of his neck.

“I’d like that.” Vince smiled.


	3. 3

They decided it was best to head to a nearby restaurant to talk, as it was getting a little late. Luckily Patton knew of a really good Italian place nearby that he was sure everyone, even the two Italians, would like. Getting there and getting a table were easy enough, but once they were seated was when a bit of the awkward silence settled in.

“So… What do y'all do? I’m fairly sure you saw my business card, but I own a contracting business.”

“Well, I’m the stage manager for the local theater. We are currently in-between plays right now though, so I have some time off.” Roman spoke up first with a shrug.

“Oh I would love to come see a performance some time! Let me know when the next one is, if you don’t mind.” He smiled and turned to Logan.

“I do online business consulting, sometimes I also do taxes for corporations. Mainly helping businesses make sound business decisions and maximizing efficiency.” Logan added.

“Wow! You must be really smart, Logan! I’ll have to get some advice from you one of these days! I’m sure you could bring some serious improvement to my business!” Vince exclaimed and Logan tried to hide a slight blush and just nodded.

“I’m the executive pastry chef for a restaurant on the edge of town, over above the pier.” Patton added, smiling.

“Oh that’s great! I’ve never been much of a cook myself… Especially with dessert, I’ll be sure to come by and try something some time!” He smiled wide.

“I do website design and IT consulting. As well as a little bit of art on the side.” Virgil shrugged.

“I’m not very good with computers, anyone who can do all that stuff is very impressive to me! Same with art! It’s such an amazing skill that I know takes a lot of hard work!” Vince answered earnestly and Virgil gave him a small smile.

“That’s all really interesting!” Vince continued and he began asking questions to all of them about their work and what had lead them to where they were now. Virgil appreciated that he seemed interested in all four of them and not just in him and Patton. He wasn’t sure if Vince realized who the two Towers brothers were to his sons, but at the very least he knew that these were important people and treated them as such. A flash of fear moved through Virgil’s body as he realized he wasn’t sure how Vince might react to finding out both of his sons were in relationships with men. Virgil began to study Vince’s face a moment, somehow trying to decide how it might go based on the conversation he was currently having with Logan.

“…Oh man, Logan. You remind me a lot of Avery. I think you two would get along swimmingly.” Vince laughed a bit.

“If I may ask, who is Avery?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, Avery is my partner. We’ve been together a long time, them and I.” Vince looked off into the distance, a happy expression crossing his expression as he pictured his partner. Virgil’s concern began to melt away a bit.

“Your partner?” Virgil asked, inquisitively.

“Oh yeah, I guess I could tell y'all about them! We go way back, we were actually in the Army together. Man.. I don’t know how I would have gotten through all of that nonsense without them. They were my rock through the hard times. When I was missing being home.. When I learned about… Umm… What happened to Melody.. It was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. And through all of it, Avery was there.” Vince coughed a bit, seeming like he was trying to hide that he was choking up a little. “Anyway… One day, after we had both left the military… We had decided to move in together, you see. I didn’t have anyone else I cared much about and Avery needed a roommate, so that worked out just fine. But anyway, one day Avery comes up to me and sits me down and tells me they have been realizing for a long time they identified as non-binary and they hoped i’d still accept them that way, but if I didn’t… There would be no hard feelings about me leaving right then and there.” He coughed once again and tried to discreetly wipe his eyes. “And I turned to them and said, Avery. You are everything I have. I don’t care what you are, I love ya. Hell, I’m IN love with you. And you know what? We’ve been together ever since. Been… Oh i’d say about 20 years now.”

Patton and Roman had both clasped their hands and pressed them to their chins with wide eyes.

“Aww…. That is literally the cutest thing I have ever heard. I love that story just.. So much.” Roman’s eyes were shining like he was going to start crying and Virgil’s fear had completely left him, replaced with a warm feeling he couldn’t describe.

“Well thank you! I wasn’t aiming for anything special.. I just feel like opening up is the best way for us to learn about each other! So.. If you don’t mind me asking, how did all y'all end up together?” Vince laughed, playfully eyeing the two couples. Virgil blushed a little and turned to Roman who told Vince the entire story about how he and Virgil met, as well as how they got their brothers together. Vince just laughed and nodded, smiling at four young men before him. It was right around then that their waitress ran up.

“I’m so sorry about the wait, gentlemen! Are you ready to order?”

“Oh you know what, darlin? We’ve been so busy talking we didn’t even look at the menus! Maybe uh.. Just a few minutes please? So sorry about the inconvenience.” Vince smiled up at her. She smiled and walked off, giving them time to actually decide what to eat.

“So have y’all been here before?” Vince asked, reading over the menu.

“I have, it’s pretty authentic. They make all their own pasta and sauce in the restaurant, so everything is really fresh.” Patton explained.

“Oh that’s great to hear. I have pretty high standards for Italian food.” Roman laughed.

“I’ll just end up getting pizza.” Virgil shrugged.

“I probably will too… All this fancy food is kinda intimidating to me…” Vince chuckled and Roman suddenly slammed his menu down, startling everyone around him.

“Vince. Vincent Small. Vincent… What is your middle name?” Roman suddenly turned to him.

“Uhh… Patrick?” Vince answered, timidly.

“Vincent Patrick Small. This is a very important question. I need you to answer honestly.” Roman continued.

“Uhh…. Ok?”

“What… Is your favorite type of pizza?”

“…Hawaiian?” Vince raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“SUCK IT, SHRIMP!” Virgil suddenly burst into laughter at Roman and it was only a moment before Patton joined in. Logan just rolled his eyes at Roman who was now pouting. Vince gave a concerned look to Logan who just sighed.

“Roman and Virgil have very different opinions on what belongs on pizza… It seems you have sided with Virgil.” Logan explained.

“Ah.. Gotcha.” Vince allowed his concern to melt away and just smiled as he watched Roman and Virgil playfully argue.

Their waitress returned after a few moments and their placed their order, happily snacking on complimentary garlic bread while they awaited their meals.

Virgil sort of picked at his, tearing little pieces of bread and taking small bites from it. Patton took a couple pieces from the basket at once and happily munched away on full bites, smiling as he chewed. Logan ate rather slowly and carefully, taking small bites and thoroughly chewing them. Roman cut his bread with his fork and knife, and then popped the bite sized pieces into his mouth. Vince wasn’t exactly sure why he was causally taking note of these things, but he felt like he had everything to learn.. He had to make up so much time and he wanted to learn the people he was with. Hopefully they didn’t mind… And maybe they’d be will to get to know him as well.

“Oh my god! Pat?!” They all heard an excited voice and whipped their heads around to find the source, an adorable blonde woman.

“Char?! You work here?” Patton instantly smiled as he saw his friend, popping out of his seat and pulling her into a hug.

“I just started! I thought i’d get an extra part time job to… you know… Afford more things for my cats… But anyway! The gang’s all here!” Charlotte laughed. “Tall, Dark, and Angsty,” Virgil waved. “The little Prince,” Roman pouted playfully. “Lil Lo,”

“…I’m larger than you in every sense.”

“And.. Oh. We haven’t met.” Charlotte paused when her eyes reached Vince. Vince stood and held out his hand to shake, Charlotte sizing him up as he did so.

“Hello there, darlin. My name is Vince. Vince Small.” He smiled warmly.

“Oh great another gian- Wait. Small?” Charlotte’s eyes got huge and she turned to look at Patton. They shared a silent conversation with their eyes before Patton gently spoke.

“Yeah, this is uh.. Our.. Uh.. Virgil and my… Dad.” He said a bit awkwardly.

There was a moment of thick tension where no one spoke, Charlotte looking back and forth from Virgil to Patton, deciding what the situation was. She finally settled back on Vince.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte. I’ve been Patton’s friend since we were very young.” She said carefully, a quiet threat in her voice.

“Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet one of Patton’s friends. I’m so glad to see he has people in his life that care so deeply about him.” Vince replied with a smile, keeping his tone light and speaking honestly.

“Of course. Patton means a lot to me. I’d do absolutely anything for him.” She responded, her voice still with an edge of danger to it.

“I’m exceptionally thankful for that. I would expect nothing less from such a dedicated friend.” He nodded, understanding what she was actually saying to him.

“Well good. I’m glad.” She let her face break into a smile and shot a look to Patton that definitely said she would be expecting info later. “Well, I’ll let you all get back to it! See you all later!” She smiled and headed back to the kitchen.

“She’s a lil spitfire, isn’t she?” Vince smiled back to the rest of them who all chuckled.

“You don’t know the half of it…” Patton laughed.

“I imagine she gave you a serious talking to, Logan?” Vince laughed.

“She did indeed.” He smiled, remembering.   
  
Patton was thankful for Charlotte’s interruption, they had been getting into a bit of an awkward silence and she gave them more to discuss.

“I’ve known her since we were pretty young, we actually went to culinary school together.” Patton explained, trying to keep the conversation moving.

“Oh I didn’t know you went to culinary school! That’s really interesting! Did the rest of you go to trade school or college?” Vince smiled.

“I have a bachelor’s in computer science and I have my bartending certification.” Virgil shrugged.

“Oh that’s neat! I’ve always wanted to learn… Well computers have always alluded me.” He laughed and shrugged.

“I have my master’s degree in Business Administration.” Logan added, an air of pride in his tone.

“Your master’s? That is very impressive Logan! I can’t imagine the work and dedication that goes into that!” Vince was proud of him which Logan seemed to really appreciate.

“And I have a bachelor’s in theatre arts.” Roman added.

“I’ve always admired all that goes into theatre. So much work has to be done to make all that happen. More than most people realize.” Vince spoke, thinking to himself as he did so.

It was at that moment that their food arrived. Virgil and Vince both got pizzas, while Roman had a plate of fettuccine Alfredo, Logan has ravioli, and Patton had a huge meat lasagna.

“This looks delicious, Patton!” Roman smiled and began to dig in.

“It tastes delicious too… Reminds me of what Nona used to make.” Logan smiled, thoroughly enjoying himself. Roman snagged a bite off Logan’s plate and smiled as he chewed it, nodding vigorously.

“I’ll have to let the chef know he is doing as well as an actual Italian grandmother. He will be overjoyed to know.” Patton laughed.

“You know the chef?” Vince asked.

“Oh yeah, he was an instructor of mine in school. Probably how Charlotte managed to get the part time job here.” Patton smiled and continued into his lasagna.

They talked lightly and enjoyed their food. Virgil and Vince traded a slide of pizza and happily enjoyed the other’s taste, much to Roman’s dismay. As the meal came to a close, and Vince insisted on picking up the tab for dinner, they made their way outside.

“This was.. Really nice, you guys. I had a really great time. I’m hoping maybe.. We could do this again sometime? No pressure. And if you ever want to meet the rest of the Smalls… They were so excited to find out you’d been found.” Vince smiled shyly.

Patton and Virgil glanced at each other, remembering once again that they had more family to discover.

“How many.. uh.. Other Smalls?” Virgil asked, surprised.

“Well.. I have a younger sister, who is married, and she has a couple kids. And my parents. So… 6 Smalls. And Avery.” He said as he counted on his fingers while he thought out loud.

“Wow. I’ve never uh.. Anyway. That sounds.. Nice.” Virgil said.

“I agree. We can organize a whole… Get together. Hopefully, relatively soon.” Patton smiled.

They all paused awkwardly a moment, just looking at each other. Before Roman playfully sighed.

“You Smalls are all alike. I have to do everything around here…” Roman laughed and reached into Vince’s pocket and took his phone. He entered all four of their phone numbers. “We still have your business card. So we have your’s. There, are we all good, you awkward awkward giants?” Roman playfully put his hands on his hips. The three Smalls just laughed and Vince looked over at Virgil.

“Hold on to that one.” He smiled. Virgil blushed lightly and pulled Roman against his side.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Vince. I look forward to the next time we meet. As well as meeting Avery.” Logan held out his hand to shake. Vince took it happily.

“Likewise, Logan. Thank you both so much. If it wasn’t for you two, this may have never happened. I owe you everything.” Vince turned and shook Roman’s hand as well.

“It is no problem, Vince. We are glad we could help bring you all back together.” Roman smiled.

Vince turned to Virgil and shook his hand as well.

“Thank you both much for coming. This meant everything to me.” Vince smiled to Virgil, his eyes watering a bit.

“Yeah… Well… This went really well.. Uh… It was nice to learn the truth. We can definitely do this again… Uh… Dad.” Virgil said slowly, embarrassed and not meeting Vince’s gaze entirely. Patton placed his hand on Virgil’s shoulder and Vince turned to him.

“I’m so sorry about everything, Patton. I’m hoping we can move forward…” Vince held his out his hand for Patton to shake. He looked down at this hand for a moment then back up at Vince.

“You know… I’m not really one for handshakes.” Patton let a smile form across his face and held his arms out. Vince’s eyes went wide and he instantly stepped forward and hugged his son for the first time, a few tears falling from his eyes. Virgil gently placed a hand on Vince’s shoulder, not fully ready to participate in the hug, but it still meant the world to Vince that he was standing in that exact spot, both his sons showing him they were willing to start working on having a relationship with him. He had never felt so complete.


	4. 4

Several months had passed, Virgil and Patton slowly working on becoming closer and more comfortable with Vince. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable to be around, but getting past everything they had grown up being told wasn’t exactly easy. Vince understood, he was just overjoyed more than anything that they even wanted to try with him. They were all taking it slow, getting together a few times for a meal every once in a while, building up some form of a relationship with one another.

But this next step was a bit of a larger one. The most recent time that they all were together, Vince seemed like he had something he was trying to say, but was too nervous to come out with it. It eventually took Roman’s help, as was per usual, to get one of the nervous Smalls to speak up.

“Alright, big guy. What is on your mind? Your thoughts are racing so fast I can practically see them.” Roman said, looking up at the eldest Small. Vince let out a little nervous chuckle.

“Can’t hide much from you, can you Roman?” He laughed lightly, nervously wringing his hands in his lap slightly. He took a deep breath before turning to look at the four of them. “Ok. Here’s the thing. So, no pressure of course, but every couple months my parents have us all come over and just spend time together… Like, uh, family bonding and stuff… Or whatever? And now that you guys are found, they’d love if you came too. All four of you, of course. But its up to you.”

All eyes were immediately on Patton and Virgil, the two of them now looking at each other and silently conversing through eye contact alone. It took a few long moments before the two of them turned back to Vince.

“That sounds like it could be fun. It would be really nice to meet everyone.” Patton said with a soft smile. “When would it be? Should I bring anything?”

Vince let out a long breath of relief. “Not this upcoming Saturday, but the one after. And don’t worry about bringing anything, just you four.” He smiled softly.

The four of them nodded, and it felt like no time at all before a week and a half had passed by, the specified Saturday rolling around. All of them were understandably nervous, having no idea what to really expect from this gathering. All they really had to go off of was Vince. And he was definitely a really nice person, but Virgil and Patton were all too aware that one member of a family wasn’t necessarily indicative of the rest of it. But for now, Virgil and Patton were headed over to meet the rest of their Dad’s…  _Their_ family. Their boyfriends were there, sitting in the back seat, silently supporting them on the drive over into this unknown.

They pulled up to the address, Roman and Logan both sharing a glance at the large house, seeing familiar tall double doors for an entrance as well as a drive-way filled with lifted pick-ups trucks and large SUVs.

“Do you think this is the right place?” Virgil asked, looking up at the house.

“Yes.” Roman and Logan answered at once, causing a bit of a chuckle to move through the vehicle, thankfully dissipating a bit of the tension.

Patton parked his SUV on the street in front of the house, the four of them climbing out to begin walking up. The four made it to the doorway and Roman hit the doorbell just as Patton’s phone began to ring. He slid his phone out of his pocket and saw it was work, apologizing and heading back to the car to take a moment to see what they needed.

The door opened a moment later, Vince smiling wide and stepping through the doors to give hugs. “Where’s Pat?” He asked, a bit confused. It wasn’t like his absence could really go unnoticed.

“He received a phone call from his work before you answered the door, he will rejoin us shortly.” Logan explained.

“Oh! Alright, well, you three come on in then. Let’s give him a minute.” Vince smiled and turned back to the doorway, stepping through and leading them all into the foyer. Roman and Logan were once again met with a home designed for giants. As they looked around, Virgil let out a soft sound of contentment, appreciating seeing another house set up where he wasn’t going to hit his head on anything.

“…Ok, so are you Virgil or Patton?” Came a voice off to the side, causing all three of them to turn to find the source. Their eyes all fell on a, not at all surprisingly, very tall young woman, eyeing Virgil a bit. Virgil swallowed, looking her over. They were undoubtedly related, although she did look a lot more like Patton than himself, with her bright green eyes, honey brown hair, and broader frame.

“Um, I’m Virgil.” He clarified.

She stepped up, sizing him up for a moment before stepping back with a huge triumphant smile. “I’m still the tallest!” She said proudly, the three of them realizing what she had been doing.

“…How tall are you?” Roman piped up, tilting his head back slightly.

“I’m 6’8” and five eighths! I was a little worried I was going to get dethroned when I heard two more Smalls were coming over. Especially more boys.” She chuckled, placing her hands on her hips triumphantly. The three newcomers shared a couple bemused glances, even Vince joining in with them after a moment.

“…Sweetie. Why don’t you actually introduce yourself?” Vince laughed, looking at her.

“Oh! Sorry, I’m Hazel! I’m… Well if you are Uncle Vince’s son, that makes us cousins! Great to meet you! And you two must be Roman and Logan? Uh.. Which of you is which?” She asked, her gaze flicking down to look at them.

“Great to meet you, Hazel. I’m Roman.” He smiled wide, already telling he and Hazel were definitely going to be kindred spirits.

“And I am Logan. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Logan added.

“Ok.. So… You two are together, right?” She asked, nodding at Virgil and Roman. “And Logan is dating the little brother?”

Virgil nodded but quickly let out a scoff, his expression curling into a smirk and his voice coming out with just a bit of playful snark. “…I think you mean…  _Younger_ brother.”

Vince let out a bit of laughter and glanced out the door, his face lighting up. “Pat!” He called, stepping through the door to give his son a hug outside before leading him in.

Patton stepped inside, coming up behind Logan. Hazel’s eyes widened, having to actually glance upward to make eye contact with her cousin. As green eyes met green eyes, she let out a soft whine.

“Noooo…..” She pouted slightly. Patton cocked his head to the side in confusion as the other four all began laughing.

“…Did I do something?” He asked a bit concerned, but the laughter eased his worry somewhat.

“I’ve been dethroooooooned.” She added, arms coming up in playful lament.

“Sorry, Hazel… Looks like the title of “Tallest Small” has been passed on.” Vince stepped forward to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, still chuckling. Patton finally caught on to the situation, letting out a bit of a deep laugh.

“…I’m sorry, Hazel. I hope you don’t hold it against me.” He laughed. Hazel continued to jokingly lament a moment longer before turning back to Patton with a smile.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’m sure i’ll survive… Second tallest isn’t so bad.” She smiled wide, her eyes traveling back across the four newcomers and her gaze settling on Roman. “Oh! Roman! You have to meet my brother! Come on!” Hazel said excitedly, reaching out to grab Roman by the hand and starting to pull him away. He followed with excitement, but he was also holding on to Virgil who ended up getting dragged into the other room behind them. Logan and Patton just turned to Vince with raised eyebrows.

“I have a feeling Roman and Hazel will be fast friends.” He said, his tone bemused. Patton chuckled in response and Logan gave a soft smile, but he was definitely a little concerned at the prospect of any person who was the size of his boyfriend… But with a personality like his brother’s.

Virgil found himself dragged along to the kitchen, trailing behind his boyfriend and his newly discovered cousin when a voice stopped them all in their tracks.

“Hazel Ann! You better not be running in my kitchen, young lady!” The three of them turned to find the source, seeing an older woman facing away from them, standing at the sink. Hazel let go of Roman’s hand to awkwardly rub the back of her neck.

“Sorry Gramma Lemon…” Hazel replied apologetically but her expression quickly turned to one a bit more mischievous. “I was just so excited for  _Roman and Virgil_  to meet Levi.” She said, her voice with a very thinly veiled tone of innocence. The woman turned over her shoulder, her eyes blowing wide when she saw them.

“Oh! I didn’t know you were here!” She said happily, grabbing a towel and drying her hands before dropping it on the counter. “It’s so lovely to meet you both, I’m Clementine! But that’s a bit of a mouthful, feel free to call me whatever you’d like! The kids have taken to calling me Grandma Lemon, but really anything is just fine.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you! I’m Roman.” He introduced himself happily.

“And I’m Virgil.” He added softly, looking over at her.

Clementine looked them both over, her green eyes twinkling a bit behind her glasses. She was fairly tall, but definitely the shortest one they’d met so far, more than likely due to her age. There was something so friendly about the glint in her eye and the softness of her smile. Her gaze caught on Virgil, looking him over as her smile widened slightly.

“Well there’s no doubt in my mind you’re a Small. You look just like Vincent.” She said softly with a light chuckle, stepping slightly closer to him. Virgil felt a little warmth in his cheeks as he looked back at her, watching her gently studying him. With her grandmother distracted, Hazel took the opportunity to grab Roman once again and flee from the room in the direction she had been originally heading.

“Yeah, I noticed.. Uh.. He and I are built pretty similarly. And.. A few other things.” Virgil responded, a bit awkwardly.

Clementine only laughed, looking back at him warmly. “You definitely have the build from my side, more narrow. You, and both of my kids, have the more narrow shoulders and hips… Only Hazel really seemed to get the broad build, like my husband. And almost all of you have the green eyes from my side. Except..” She tentatively brought her hand up to cup Virgil’s cheek, giving him room to move away if he chose to, but he stayed still. “You.. Have your mother’s eyes.” She added gently.

Virgil’s cheeks were burning, but his expression was soft as he continued looking down at her. He knew that was true… But no one had really ever said it aloud to him before. He let a small smile curl across his face, nearly matching her’s. The two of them stayed quiet for a moment when the quiet murmuring that had been softly in the background from the foyer seemed to go quiet and they heard footsteps approaching. Clementine pulled her hand away, turning to the doorway to see Vince enter with Logan at his heels.

“Hello there! I’m Clementine, it’s nice to meet you!” She said with a smile, her attention on Logan.

“Pleasure to meet you, Ma’am. I’m Logan.” He nodded politely, looking up at her.

“Hello! I’m Patton!” Patton added from behind the two of them, stepping into the the kitchen. At the voice, Clementine’s eyes traveled up, causing yet another meeting of two pairs of green eyes. Her smile remained for a moment before she got a good look at him, her hand quickly moving to her mouth in surprise. Patton’s slight concern from when he originally arrived had returned, receiving yet another reaction he hadn’t been expecting. “…Umm.. Is everything alright?”

“Oh! I’m sorry, Patton! I didn’t mean to..” She said quickly, her eyes still traveling over him, studying him a bit more than she had done with Virgil. “It’s just you look almost exactly like…” She added with a small mumble before turning toward the doorway that Hazel had disappeared through. “Dear! Would you come in the kitchen please?”

“Sure thing, Hun!” Came a man’s voice from through the doorway. Only a few moments later an older man appeared, built broad and tall.. Looking almost exactly like Patton but a number of decades older. “Oh hello there! I’m Jefferson, but Jeff is just fine.” He added with a sincere smile, familiar crinkles forming on either side of his blue eyes as he saw Virgil first and held out a hand.

Virgil was a bit surprised, seeing this man who looked so undeniably like his younger brother. But he gave him his hand to shake for now. “I’m Virgil.”

Logan stepped up next, also shaking his hand and introducing himself before Jeff finally looked at Patton. They both were paused in their tracks, studying each other. It was several moments of moderately stunned silence before Jeff’s face split into a huge, and very Patton-like, smile. “You know, when I complained that no one in this family looked like me… I wasn’t actually asking for a clone.” He joked, letting out a deep laugh that Patton immediately joined in on.

Logan’s expression immediately softened at the sound. Patton had a laugh that could melt even the most stern person’s demeanor, something that Logan had been experiencing since the moment he first heard it. As he looked away from the two very tall men to glance at the others around him, something became immediately obvious. Where he and Virgil had Patton as their source of contagious pure laughter and unbridled joy… The rest of this family apparently had Jeff. Vince seemed to be the only one who wasn’t surprised at the development, while the others all seemed completely stunned to hear what was obviously a long-cherished sound suddenly become doubled. As Patton and Jeff’s laughter only escalated in response to other’s, the infectiousness of their deep pure sound managed to break through the stunned silence and it was only moments before everyone else was grinning and starting to join in as well. Logan and Clementine shared a subtle look of understanding, looking up with loving grins at the men that meant so much to them.

Hazel had rushed Roman through the kitchen and into the dining room, pulling him over to find a young man working on schoolwork at the dining table, seeming to be struggling a bit.

 _“Leev Leev Leev Leev Leev!”_  Hazel called cheerily, still bringing Roman along behind her.

“What is it, Haze?” Levi asked, not looking up from his textbook.

“This is Roman!” She said happily, gesturing to the man beside her.

“Hello Levi, it’s great to meet you!” Roman smiled and gave a small wave. Levi looked up and his gaze automatically trained upward, looking for a person somewhere around the size of his older sister, but slowly his eyes trailed down until they settled on Roman. His eyes widened and he popped out of his seat, coming forward to stand before them. Levi’s mouth turned up into a smile as he stopped, eye to eye with Roman.

“Oh my god, I’m not alone!” Levi laughed, smiling as Roman suddenly realized why he had been dragged halfway around the house to meet this particular cousin. Roman looked him over, noting his dark eyes that nearly matched his darker complexion, but his gaze stuck in his hair, fire engine red and styled dramatically. Roman just laughed after a moment, just as surprised as Levi was to find someone he didn’t have to crane his neck to talk to.

“It’s a pleasure… Someone else to get lost with in all the kneecaps.” Roman added with a slight smirk. Levi joined in the laughter, the two of them falling into conversation as Hazel smiled and slipped back out, heading back to the kitchen at the sound of laughter.

“Did I miss something in here?” Hazel asked she walked in, seeing all of them laughing and cracking a smile herself. They all turned to see her as she entered, warm smiles all around as they were still coming down from their contagious laughing.

“Nothing too out of the ordinary.” Jeff chuckled a bit, reaching over to clap Patton on the shoulder. Patton just returned his smile before turning to look back at his cousin.

“What did you do with Roman? You had him with you when you ran through earlier, didn’t you?” Clementine asked her, raising an eyebrow.

“I left him with Levi, I figured they’d get along. Besides, maybe he can help Levi with his college stuff, I don’t understand all that number stuff at all.” Hazel shrugged.

Patton, Virgil, and Logan were all sharing a bemused glance when, as if on cue, “Looooo? Can you come in here?” Roman called from the dining room. The three of them let out a soft chuckle as Logan nodded to the room full of Smalls as he went off to see what his brother needed.

It was only a few moments later when they heard the front door open up and multiple sets of footsteps as people entered the home.

“I spied an unfamiliar car outsiiiide… Do I have some nephews to meet?” Came a voice from the front door.

“We’re in the kitchen, mom!” Hazel yelled, happily looking at the doorway. The footsteps continued to approach, a slightly older woman appearing after a moment. She seemed to be the only one that had inherited Jeff’s bright blue eyes, twinkling warmly behind her round glasses. Behind her was a smaller woman, probably roughly around Logan’s size, her dark hair nearly matching her skintone and her eyes. Rounding out the trio was a person with short tousled ginger hair and an adorable smattering of freckles, their short shirt showing off a toned stomach. “Hi Mom, Hi Mama, Hi Unty Aves!” Hazel called, waving to them.

The tall older woman had a massive smile on her face, already with a small laugh on her lips. “Alright… I wasn’t expecting to see a ‘Little Vince’ and a.. ‘Big Jeff’ when I walked in.. But at least we can’t deny you found the right house.” She smiled wide, stepping forward. “I’m Katherine, or Kat or.. Whatever. I’m your dad’s older sister. This is my wife, Raelynn.”

“Hello boys! It’s so nice to meet you!” Raelynn smiled with a wave.

Virgil and Patton both smiled and waved, their gaze falling on the third person.

“Hey boys, I’m Avery. I have heard so much about you, it’s nice to finally have faces to put to the names.” Avery gave them a reassuring smile, moving to stand next to Vince. Vince instinctively pressed a kiss to Avery’s temple as they moved next to him.

“Welcome back, sweetheart.” Vince said with a small smile, looking over them. “How was the drive back?”

“Not bad… These two knuckleheads apparently don’t know how to read an oil gauge…” Avery teased, looking back to Katherine and Raelynn.

“Oh my god, you two. Did you stop taking care of the truck when I moved out?” Hazel playfully scolded.

Virgil and Patton watched on, softly smiling at the dynamic of this.. Of their family. It was so casual and easy… You couldn’t look around the room and not know how much they all cared for each other. It didn’t take long of their causal conversation before Clementine interrupted to shoo everyone from the kitchen so she could get working on dinner… Unless they planned on helping. And with that, everyone fled immediately, with the exception of Patton. She seemed a bit surprised, but gladly accepted the help and the opportunity to talk more with him.

As dinner was underway, Hazel snuck back into the dining room to find Logan explaining the complex concepts of Levi’s textbook to him in such a way that seemed he was actually really getting it. Roman was just sitting there with a confused look on his face, definitely appreciating when Hazel reappeared and once again pulled him away. She ran through the kitchen once more, earning another scolding from Clementine, semi-dragging Roman along behind her once more and the two of them laughing the whole way upstairs.

Virgil found himself quietly sitting in the family room, alongside Vince and Avery, just watching and listening. The boisterous laugher from upstairs… The gentle chiding of his two aunts and grandfather sitting at the nearby couch… Soft talking and delicious smells from the kitchen… Relatively complex explanations from the dining room… It was all so nice. So peaceful… Maybe having a family wouldn’t be so bad.


End file.
